Outside the Hedge

Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)

Over the past month, Mike and I have been bombarded with a lot of “stuff”. Thankfully, all of which has been indirect through work, extended family, and close friends. We’ve helped with divorce court, child custody, and we also had to replace a manager, which was long overdue but never easy.

And although none of it directly affects us (our children or our marriage…thank God) the "stuff” affects us indirectly and has a very real impact.

Mike came home about an hour early from work yesterday. Our girls were outside playing so we put everything aside, actually sat down together and really talked. As I listened to Mike, I thought, we haven’t done this in almost two months….how DID that happen?!

My day was very uneventful (praise God!) so it didn’t take long for me to catch him up. He had quite a bit more to deal with than I and as I sat listening to him I thought, “He looks so tired.” And not the kind of tired that a quick nap would alleviate but weary, the type of weary from carrying heavy burdens.

We love our extended family, close friends and the people we work with (employees, customers,and suppliers alike). When we love people, we mourn when they mourn. (Romans12:15) We have a heart to help others and we praise God for allowing us to be light in dark places. (Matthew 5:16) But we have to be mindful to not allow the enemy to distort gifts God has placed in us and become imbalanced; thus, robbing us and others of those gifts. (John 10:10, 1 Peter 4:10)

We threw together a very easy dinner and went to bed early. At 4:00 a.m. God woke me up and said, “You’ve got to get back inside the hedge.” (Psalm 91)

THANK YOUFATHER!

• Thank God there is a hedge!
• Thank God for telling me to get back inside the hedge!
• Thank God for showing me how to get back inside the hedge!
• Renew our thoughts and attitudes with His Word! (Ephesians 4:23)
• Stay in His will! (1 Thessalonians 5:18) 
• Rest in Him!(Matthew 11:28)

My prayer for every reader today is to stay in the hedge! Protect your heart and mind and stay close to the vine bearing much good fruit, in the name of Jesus! 

(Proverbs 4:23, John 15:5)